At 8 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 20, Al Smith was first to pull up and unload his Food 4 Thought donation on the curb of the church across from Liberty Lake Elementary.  It was the start of the flood in what proved to be an amazing outpouring of community generosity for the homeless students in our Valley school districts.  

508 volunteers from the Kiwanis, the CVHS leadership class, and the seven congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints combined for 1,257 hours of service and approximately 8,500 pounds of food.  The cars just kept coming and coming.  Missionaries and young people from the church formed an assembly line to pass the bags from car to ramp to back of truck.  As the bins filled to overflowing, more volunteers transferred bags to banana boxes so they could be stacked atop the bins.  

Meanwhile, Food 4 Thought founder Pat Dockrey stood in the parking lot with a handful of envelopes that finally grew beyond his ability to hold.  

"I've been getting donations in the mail all week," Dockrey explained.  

In addition, volunteers were bringing in many donations along with the food, and some residents pulled in just to write a check.  Last week, Dockrey and his Food 4 Thought volunteers packed take-home bags for 185 of the 800 homeless kids in our Valley school districts.  

"We hope to do a lot more than that now," he said.  

The Food 4 Thought drive was made possible by the hard work of volunteers and the generous donations of many local organizations. Liberty Lake Kiwanis funded the discount printing provided by UPS Store in Liberty Lake.  Safeway, Albertsons and Fred Meyer donated bags and made sure their shelves were stocked with the items on the Food 4 Thought list. Tierpoint printed posters, and The Liberty Lake Splash and The Current donated space in the paper to get the word out. Central Valley High School was gracious enough to let one group of volunteers operate out of its parking lot.  And Valley Partners sent a truck and driver to transport the donations.

When Frank Davis, the Valley Partners truck driver, arrived at noon to see the loaded truck, he said, "this is exciting" - and then walked around to check the tires and axels for clearance.  

"I think we can make it," he announced, as the door rolled down on the evidence of the huge hearts that exist within the Liberty Lake, Otis Orchards, Greenacres and Spokane Valley community.

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